The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-25
The Indemnity Lands,

The Indemnity Lands.
Secretary Lamar is proving himself to be
true reformer. He is doing work in the
Interior Department which will be remem-
bered long after he has left it. It was on
his advice that Congress passed the law au-
thorizing the allotment of lands to Indians
That law will soon be in operation, and the
Indian Bureau, with all of its fraudulent
practices, will be wiped out of existence.
The Indian policy, which was SO carefully
fostered by the Republicans when they wore
in power, at an expense of about S7,000,000
year, will be thing of the past
The thing that Secretary Lamar has in
hand now is the opening of the indemnity
lands to settlement. There are about 100,-
100000 acres of these lands, and they will
quickly be taken up by settlers seeking
homesteads The greater portion of them
has been withdrawn from market for
periods varying from two to thirty-five
years, in order to give the land grant rail
roads an opportunity to make selections
from them whenever they got ready to do so.
The President, in his letter in the Guilford
Miller case, said that millions of acres had
been kept out of market for fifteen years at
the request of the Northern Pacific railroad,
although that corporation had no more
right to the land than the humblest settler.
Why have these indemnity lands been
kept for the land grant railroads so long?
Simply because the railroads were owned by
men who were more influential with the
Republican party than the humble seekers
of homes in the West But there is to be a
change. These lands belong to the nation
| and not to the railroads, and while the rail-
| roads will be treated justly, they will not be
shown favoritism at the expense of the peo-
pie. If the railroads are entitled to more
| lands than are to be found within the limits
| of their original grants they will get them,
but they must show that they have complied
with their contracts with the government
and must prove without delay that they are
entitled to all they claim.
| The land grant roads have been too grasp
ing They thought that they could control
| the present administration as they had con-
| trolled previous ones. Had the Northern
Pacific railroad suspected that its wishes
respecting tho indemnity lands would not
be complied with it would never have COM
/ bllc 1O1iloil VI W tNlCb
| Guilford Miller from his farm. 1t would have
willingly admitted his claim. By insisting
upon having his homestead it gave the adj
ministration the opportunity to adopt q
| policy that will deprive the railroads Of
millions of acres upon which they have been
looking with covetous eyes.
If the administration had done nothing
else in the way of reform than to open up
to settlement the indemnity lands it would
have done enough to entitle it to the graft
tude of the people But it has done many
other things, and they are not likely to be
forgotten.
There are a few disappointed politicians
who, having failed to get enough of the
spoils of office to satisfy them, wonder
why the administration is so popular They
cannot understand that the people are more
interested in having an honest government
than in having ofiice-seekers provided for.
1t is just such things as the opening of the
indemnity lands to settlement, the discon-
tinuance of the expensive and altogether
useless Indian Bureau and the checking of
ruinous pension legislation, that appeal to
the judgment of the people and command
their approval.
What did Mr.. Teller, the predecessor of
Mr.. Lamar, do, as the head of the Interior
Department, that the people remember with
gratitudes What reform did he inaugurate?
There is no great public act of his that adds
honor to his name. He was with the land
grant railroads and against the people, and
was happy if he could place some of his
political friends in desirable places in the
Indian Bureau But win not Mr. Lamar
have done something that will add addi-
tional lustre to his nameG If he only finishes
the work he has already mapped out he will
have done enough TO entitle him to place
with the greatest of those who have directed
departments of the government.